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Asian students over-represented in LAUSD gifted programs

By Annie Gilbertson | KPCC One in three Asian students is labeled as gifted by his or her school, according to data released by the Los Angeles Unified School District for a school board committee meeting scheduled today. The latest numbers again raise questions about the over- and under-representation of ethnic groups in the district’s Gifted and...
By LA School Report | April 28, 2015
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Morning Read: Texas educator is National Teacher of the Year

Texas English teacher named national teacher of the year Shanna Peeples works with students facing poverty and traumas related to their immigration to the United States. Huffington Post Data science class offers L.A. Unified students a new handle on math Asking questions of data is the aim of a class being offered at 10 Los...
By LA School Report | April 28, 2015
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Teachers protest LA Unified 609 layoff notices to offset deficit

* UPDATED One week after a landmark deal that will bring LA Unified teachers a double digit salary increase, more than a hundred members of the teachers union, UTLA, protested potential district layoffs this morning before the start of hearings to challenge the cuts. The school board last month authorized 609 layoff notices that were issued to...
By Vanessa Romo | April 27, 2015
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Judge: No intervention similar to Jefferson needed at 6 other schools

A California judge has denied a request for state intervention at six schools for students’ being assigned open classes that lack academic value. The same judge had ordered the state to intervene at LA Unified’s Jefferson High School in October over the same issue and as part of the same lawsuit. Bay Area Superior Court Judge...
By Craig Clough | April 27, 2015
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Big ed companies spend millions lobbying for pro-testing policies

By Valerie Strauss | The Washington Post The four corporations that dominate the U.S. standardized testing market spend millions of dollars lobbying state and federal officials — as well as sometimes hiring them — to persuade them to favor policies that include mandated student assessments, helping to fuel a nearly $2 billion annual testing business,...
By LA School Report | April 27, 2015
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Morning Read: What will reaction be if many fail Common Core test?

Poll hints of political train wreck over Common Core If most parents know little about the Common Core test, how will they react when they learn that a large percentage of kids failed? SI&A Cabinet Report Federal government urges K-12 schools to comply with Title IX The guidance comes against a backdrop of national concern about...
By LA School Report | April 27, 2015
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UTLA pulls back campaign spending on Kayser in shift to Schmerelson

Despite only modest spending on behalf of Bennett Kayser in the race to represent LA Unified’s board District 5, the teachers union said today it’s not abandoning him in the May 19 run off against reform darling, Ref Rodriguez. According to the latest data from the LA City Ethics Commission, the political action committee connected...
By Vanessa Romo | April 24, 2015
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Alliance officials deny illegal ‘anti-union’ accusations of UTLA

The LA teachers union, UTLA, released documents today that it says proves the administration of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools has been illegally blocking a unionization attempt by its teachers. Alliance, in turn, acknowledged the documents were real and said that they prove nothing. The documents outline a clear strategy by the administration to win the hearts...
By Craig Clough | April 24, 2015
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Anti-Rodriguez ‘issue’ flyers draw complaints from charter group
The California Charter Schools Association political action committee says it has filed complaints against the teachers union PAC for not reporting spending on material attacking Ref Rodriguez, the charter school executive who is challenging school board incumbent Bennett Kayser in LA Unified’s District 5 runoff on May 19. The charter group, which is spending heavily...
By LA School Report | April 24, 2015
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LA Times endorses Rodriguez, Galatzan, Vladovic

By the Editorial Board On May 19, when Angelenos head back to the polls for runoff elections, there will be three L.A. Unified school board seats in play. Technically, four seats are being decided, but incumbent George McKenna is running unopposed. This is an especially important election because it is the members of the new...
By LA School Report | April 24, 2015